Richard L. Bell

Effect of nutrient media on axillary shoot proliferation and preconditioning for adventitious shoot regeneration of pears

The influence of the nutrient composition of plant tissue culture media on axillary shoot proliferation and their preconditioning effect on subsequent adventitious shoot regeneration from pear leaves was investigated. The goal was to improve both micropropagation and regeneration of ‘Bartlett’ and ‘Beurre Bosc’ pear cultivars. Driver–Kuniyuki walnut (DKW) and Quoirin and Lepoivre (QL) nutrient media were found to be superior to Murashige and Skoog (MS) and Woody Plant Medium (WPM) for axillary shoot proliferation. Shoots on WPM exhibited some chlorosis. Axillary shoot culture on DKW would be preferred to that on QL due to the production of excessively short thin shoots on the latter medium. DKW also was superior to QL and MS for production of young expanding leaves for use as explants in adventitious regeneration. Leaf explants derived from shoot proliferation cultures grown on DKW or QL media produced more adventitious shoots than leaf explants from MS.

Effects of carbohydrates and nitrogen on the development of anthocyanins of a red leaf peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) in vitro

Heterozygous red leaf peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) shoots were implanted on media with varying nitrogen and carbohydrate regimes to identify a combination which elicited maximum anthocyanin production in explants. A medium with relatively low nitrogen (5 mM NH4+ and 10 mM NO3-) and high sucrose (234 mM) was most effective in stimulating anthocyanin production. Sucrose was more effective as a carbon source than glucose, fructose, or starch under given nitrogen levels. The major anthocyanin in red leaf peach was tentatively identified as cyanidin 3-glucoside based on PC and HPLC analysis.